While not everyone does or will head cannon Nico di Angelo as a character with a variety of disabilities many people do, and it's important when writing any disabled character whether or not this be fanfiction or a published book that disabled characters are written in a non-ableist way free of negative stereotyping.
(I have been informed that I should have been sure to mention that Nico is canonically autistic coded and deals with PTSD as well as acknowledgment to other mental health issues and/or neurodivergencies he's coded as having and it's important to represent those aspects of him accurately as well since they are canonically present)
Here's a compilation on the 101 of writing characters with a disability in any form of media, it's important to do further research into the specific disabilities you're representing but this post hopes to provide a starting point for conducting your own research and common overarching themes when writing characters with a disability.
This post also includes references on writing abuse in hopes that people will recognize how abuse works and how to write and how not to write abuse in order to help people recognize toxic or harmful tropes, themes, or characterization in their work:
Writing disabled characters a 101 : a very simple baseline "how to" on writing disabled characters in any sort of media
Harmful tropes involving disabled characters (including avoiding the helplessness trope) :
"...the key to this is portraying disabled characters as people who are capable of actively responding when bad things happen to them. Not every action they take needs to be successful, but they should always be doing something to deal with the situation.."
A compilation post on writing neurodivergent characters in a non ableist way, ableism in relationships and forgiveness, and writing abusive relationships : includes writing characters with BPD, PTSD, Anxiety, Autistic characters, writing disabled villain characters and abuse apologism, as well as writing abuse.
Fanfiction and assuming you're in the wrong- proactive not reactive :
"I truly believe that if youâre going to write (e.g. write fanfic) about a sensitive topic, you should do some research. Ideally, involving talking to people whoâve experienced the thing youâre writing about. Sometimes thatâs impossible, but then you should *at least* read things people have written. Donât go on what youâve heard from, say, the medical establishment. Assume the world is ableist (and racist and sexist and classist andâŠ). That it hates different behaviour and wants to regulate it."
Writing an able-bodied savior character and the common issue in media appealing to able-bodied individuals (using "The Greatest Showman" as reference for many common ableist tropes and themes) :
"Maybe the film itself will present Barnum as a flawed figure; it could humanize those with disabilities and remove the stigmas of past features... hardlyâif anyâdisabled directors or screenwriters making major motion pictures. This leaves most films removed from the disabled experience, with the few that do depict the disabled offering an overall message focused on inspiring an able-bodied audience."
As well as a good follow up read involving more discussion around commonly ableist tropes in media
An article about the movie "Wonder" and the ableism presented in it (âThe existence of someone should not be considered âinspirational,â just because theyâre different.â)
A conversation about ableism from the perspective of someone living with a physical disability :
"What Iâm circling around with all of these words layered on words â is this: Our work with âDisability Awarenessâ and âDisability Rightsâ can only go so far before we have to address the deep roots of ableism harvested in our culture. The majority of our communities are well-trained in âpolitical correctness,â even as they are steeped in ableist thinking. The result of this confusing combination is a culture that says all the ârightâ things, while continuing to practice the marginalization of an entire people-group..."
Abuse in relationships with friends // A blog detailing red flags in medical care // A post discussing ND diagnosis, ableism, and gaslighting in the medical community // How to recognize abuse
(Recognizing medical abuse as well as relationship abuse is important because it's not uncommon for people to take ableist themes from canon when shipping Solangelo and interiors them into the fabric of their relationship and this is of course a negative way to represent a disabled character in a relationship)
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